Swinging door hinge unit



United States Patent 3,328,832 SWINGING DOOR HINGE UNIT Sherwood L. Simpson, Canton, Ohio, and Frederic W. Leach, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, assignors to American Home Products Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 11, 1965, Ser. No. 431,933 Claims priority, application Canada, Oct. 19, 1964, 914,306 3 Claims. (Cl. 16131) This invention relates to a swinging door hinge unit wherein the turning axis of a door with which said unit is to be operatively associated is established via a pivot bearing member and a support member in underlying relation to said door on which said pivot member is indexable to a series of selected position along a line of travel in radially extending relation to said turning axis.

A swinging door hinge unit incorporating features of this invention provides intermeshing means on the pivot bearing member and the support member effective to lock the pivot member in selected position along its line of travel only when in a gravity biased position in downward bearing engagement with said support member, while operable to move between selected positions along said line of travel while in overhead alignment with said support member but in elevated relation to said gravity biased position.

An important object of this invention is to provide a swinging door hinge unit of the character indicated which may be conveniently installed and which is simple and efiicient in use whereby accurate registration of the door edges and the boundaries of the doorway in connection with which the door is operatively mounted may be readily maintained.

Further objects of the invention are in part obvious and in part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a swinging door hinge unit embodying the present invention as the same appears when in operative relation to a door and doorway installation.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view in perspective of the hinge unit shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the mounting bracket portion of the hinge unit of this invention.

FIG. 4 is a vertical section of the pivot bearing member taken in a plane containing the axis of the hinge unit.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the bracket shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the pivot bearing member shown in FIG. 4.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a hinge unit embodying the features of this invention is illustrated as mounted between the floor 11 and the lower edge of a door at the corner of the door nearest an upright jamb 12 of the doorway in which the door 10 operates between open and closed positions.

The hinge unit includes a mounting bracket having an upright arm 13 secured by screws 14 to the side of the jarnb 12 facing the doorway. An arm 15 extending horizontally from the lower end of arm 13 is secured by suitable means to the floor 11 in underlying relation to the door 10.

The weight of the door 10 is applied to the arm 15 of the mounting bracket via a pivot bearing 18 of nylon or other suitable composition having an upwardly opening recess 19 in which a pivot pin 20 secured to and projecting downwardly from the door 11 has rotatable bearing support. The position of the member 18 is fixed in overhead relation to the arm 15 by means of downwardly extending side walls 21 formed integrally with the member 18 which have straddling engagement with and also conceal opposite upright edges of the arm 15.

3,328,832 Patented July 4, 1967 A series of teeth 22 defining said upright edges of the arm 15 have meshing engagement with teeth 23 of matching contour which are defined by inwardly facing surface portions of the walls 21 opposite said teeth 22 on the arm 15 when the member 18 is subjected to the weight of the door and thereby occupying a fully lowered position on the arm 15.

Thus the tooth 22 on the arm while engaged by the teeth on the member 18 establish the horizontal location of the pivot member relative to the arm 15. It will be noted however, that the walls 21 of the member 18 have inwardly facing surfaces 24 of smooth contour below the area of said walls containing the teeth 23 for sliding engagement with the crests of the teeth 22 on the arm 15 when the member 18 is elevated a distance sufficient to free the teeth 23 from engagement with the teeth 22 on the arm 15. As shown in FIG. 6 each of the walls 21 is provided along the lower edge thereof with a central notch 25. A suitable tool, such as the blade of a screwdriver, or the like, accordingly has entry to an area.

between the floor 11 and the boundary of the notch 25 opposite thereto to provide for the application of a lift ing force on the member 18 via said tool so as to dis engage teeth 22 and 23 and thereby allow the member 18 to be lifted and shifted along arm 15 toward and away from the upright arm 13 of the mounting bracket for the purpose of establishing the location of the pivot recess 19 at a selected distance from the upright arm 13 and thereupon maintaining such position by removing the tool and the notch 25 and allowing the Weight of the door to be applied against the member 18 to lower the member 18 into a position of interengagement of its teeth with the teeth on the arm. The use of nylon as the composition of the member 18 is desirable for its self-lubricating properties and in addition provides an article that is relatively inexpensive to fabricate and is long wearing in use. Furthermore the arm of the bracket underlying the pivot member is effectively concealed by the pivot member thereby producing a hinge unit of sightly, pleasing appearance.

Although only one embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that other modifications thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A swinging door hinge unit including a mounting bracket adapted for attachment to a rigid support and having an arm extending therefrom for disposal in underlying relation to the path of swinging movement of a door with which said unit is to be operatively associated said arm having opposite edges thereof defined by a succession of teeth, a pivot bearing member having a pair of downwardly extending walls having straddling engagement with said opposite edges of the arm, said walls of the bearing member presenting first surface portions facing said edges of the arm which have sliding engagement with the crests of the teeth of said arm, and presenting second surface portions above said first surface portion which have intermeshing engagement with said teeth of said arm whereby said pivot member may be locked in a selected position along a line of travel defined by said opposite edges of the arm when said pivot member is in a lowered position wherein said second surface portion of the walls of said pivot member has intermeshing relation with the teeth of said arm and is free to be shifted to a different position along said line of travel when said pivot member is in a lifted position wherein said first surface portion of the walls of said pivot member has sliding engagement with said teeth of the arm.

2. A swinging door hinge unit according claim 1 Wherein said arm of the mounting bracket occupies a position in downward engagement with the floor of a doorway with which the hinge unit is associated, and said walls of the bearing member restrict access to the area occupied by said arm of the mounting bracket except for a notch provided along the lower edge of each of said walls of the bearing member, said notch providing for entry of a tool for application of a force effective to lift said bearing member from a position wherein the teeth on the arm have intermeshing engagement with said second surface portions of said walls of the bearing member.

3. A swinging door hinge unit according to claim 7,

wherein said pivot bearing member is a unitary body of synthetic resin composition.

References Cited 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,949,626 8/ 1960 Blackmer 16-90 3,096,539 7/1963 Dickinson et a1 16-151 3,251,090 5/ 1966 F ergison 16-129 10 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD C. ALLEN, Examiner.

D. L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SWINGING DOOR HINGE UNIT INCLUDING A MOUNTING BRACKET ADAPTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO A RIGID SUPPORT AND HAVING AN ARM EXTENDING THEREFROM FOR DISPOSAL IN UNDERLYING RELATION TO THE PATH OF SWINGING MOVEMENT OF A DOOR WITH WHICH SAID UNIT IS TO BE OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED SAID ARM HAVING OPPOSITE EDGES THEREOF DEFINED BY A SUCCESSION OF TEETH, A PIVOT BEARING MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING WALLS HAVING STRADDLING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID OPPOSITE EDGES OF THE ARM, SAID WALLS OF THE BEARING MEMBER PRESENTING FIRST SURFACE PORTIONS FACING SAID EDGES OF THE ARM WHICH HAVE SLIDING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CRESTS OF THE TEETH OF SAID ARM, AND PRESENTING SECOND SURFACE PORTIONS ABOVE SAID FIRST SURFACE PORTION WHICH HAVE INTERMESHING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID TEETH OF SAID ARM WHEREBY SAID PIVOT MEMBER MAY BE LOCKED IN A SELECTED POSITION ALONG A LINE OF TRAVEL DEFINED BY SAID OPPOSITE EDGES OF THE ARM WHEN SAID PIVOT MEMBER IS IN A LOWERED POSITION WHEREIN SAID SECOND SURFACE PORTION OF THE WALLS OF SAID PIVOT MEMBER HAS INTERMESHING RELATION WITH THE TEETH OF SAID ARM AND IS FREE TO BE SHIFTED TO A DIFFERENT POSITION ALONG SAID LINE OF TRAVEL WHEN SAID PIVOT MEMBER IS IN A LIFTED POSITION WHEREIN SAID FIRST SURFACE PORTION OF THE WALLS OF SAID PIVOT MEMBER HAS SLIDING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID TEETH OF THE ARM. 